(a) General rule.--In election districts in which ballots are used, the ballots for use by mail-in voters under this act shall be the official ballots printed in accordance with sections 1002 and 1003.¹

(a.1) Duties of county boards of elections.--The county board of elections, when preparing the official ballots for mail-in voters, shall be required to indicate on the voter's record the identification number of specific ballot envelope into which the voter's ballot is inserted. The county board of elections shall also print, stamp or endorse on the official ballots the words, “Official Mail-in Ballot.” The ballots shall be distributed by a board as provided under this section.

(b) Preparation of ballots.--In election districts in which voting machines are used and in election districts in which paper ballots are used, the county board of elections in that election district will not print official mail-in ballots in accordance with sections 1002 and 1003. The ballots for use by mail-in voters under this section shall be prepared sufficiently in advance by the county board of elections and shall be distributed by the boards as provided under this act. The ballots shall be marked “Official Mail-in Ballot” but shall not be numbered and shall otherwise be in substantially the form for ballots required by Article X,² which form shall be prescribed by the Secretary of the Commonwealth.

(c) Use of ballot cards.--In election districts in which electronic voting systems are utilized, the mail-in ballot may be in the form of a ballot card which shall be clearly stamped on the ballot card's face “Mail-in Ballot.”

(d) Special write-in mail-in ballots.--In cases where there is not time to print on the ballots the names of the various candidates, the county board of elections shall print special write-in mail-in ballots which shall be in substantially the form of other official mail-in ballots, except that the special write-in mail-in ballots shall contain blank spaces only under the titles of the offices in which electors may insert by writing or stamping the names of the candidates for whom they desire to vote, and in those cases, the county board of elections shall furnish to electors lists containing the names of all the candidates named in nomination petitions or who have been regularly nominated under the provisions of this act, for the use of the electors in preparing their ballots. Special write-in mail-in ballots shall include all constitutional amendments and other questions to be voted on by the electors.

(e) Notice.--The official mail-in voter ballot shall state that a voter who receives a mail-in ballot under section 1301-D³ and whose voted mail-in ballot is not timely received may only vote on election day by provisional ballot unless the elector brings the elector's mail-in ballot to the elector's polling place, remits the ballot and the envelope containing the declaration of the elector to the judge of elections to be spoiled and signs a statement subject to the penalties of 18 Pa.C.S. § 4904 (relating to unsworn falsification to authorities) to the same effect.